But somewhere along the way, Blake Bortles played just well enough to keep his Jaguars alive, and a talented roster took care of the rest. Defensive Player of the Year candidates Calais Campbell and Jalen Ramsey terrorized quarterbacks to make Jacksonville a team no opponent was comfortable facing. The Jags finished the season first in the league in defensive efficiency and second in total defense and sacks per game en route to its first division title of the millennium.

It’ll still take some time to shake off the musty smell of mediocrity that had settled over northern Florida. One massive shot of fresh air may come Sunday afternoon. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a top-five team all season, a reigning member of the AFC’s old-guard elite. Finding a way to topple them at Heinz Field amid a sea of Terrible Towels would go a long way toward proving Jacksonville’s legitimacy.

That’s easier said than done. The only team in the league to record more sacks than the Jaguars was the Steelers, who have used a litany of high-value draft picks to rebuild the Steel Curtain defense that put the franchise on the map so many years ago. Cameron Heyward, Vince Williams, T.J. Watt, and Bud Dupree have helped build a pressure-creating front seven that’s been deep enough to cover for the loss of Pro Bowl linebacker Ryan Shazier.

And while the Pittsburgh defense stacks up favorable with the Jaguars’ unit, the Steelers offense is a skyscraper compared to Bortles’ split-level ranch home near the rendering plant. Two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger is surrounded by weapons, including All-Pros Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. Add in weapons like Martavis Bryant and JuJu Smith-Schuster and it’s easy to see why Pittsburgh is a significant home favorite to advance to the AFC title game.

Pregame reading

Brown suffered a torn calf muscle in Week 15 against the New England Patriots, when his leg got awkwardly bent while he tried to make a touchdown catch. It initially had the looks of a season-ending injury when Brown spent several minutes on the turf, but the Steelers avoided a worst-case scenario. Brown missed the final two weeks of the regular season, but the bye week gave him extra time to rest.

“Usually in situations like that when we’re up in the two minute, with the corners we play 10 yards off, if not more,” Ramsey said. “Two plays before that, with Peterman we played the same coverage, we played off and he threw that quick hitch to A.J. [Bouye]’s side. They line up in the same formation, just flipped on my side so I figured they were running the same route. I took a read step and as soon as he threw it, I broke on it.”

Ben Roethlisberger said he wanted to play the Jaguars again after a 30-9 spanking earlier in the season. Jacksonville welcomes it.

After the Jaguars dismissed the Bills from the playoffs, cornerback A.J. Bouye had this to say about Roethlisberger’s “wish”.

“Be careful what you wish or. This is what he wanted. This is what he’s going to get.”

Shots fired, bulletin board material posted, whatever else you want to call the two players’ interactions through the media. However, as much as I don’t blame the Jaguars for taking offense to Roethlisberger’s comment, his comments were based more on his own individual desire for redemption, not solely directed towards the Jaguars’ defense.

You have to mix in some deep shots as well, early in the game. The Jaguars should have their full array of healthy wide receivers on Sunday, so test a sketchy Steelers secondary down the field early on. I understand why the Jaguars did what they did against the Bills, going for shorter passes and screens to combat a loaded box and catch them looking in the backfield, but you also have to try to back them off early in the game. Bortles hasn’t exactly instilled confidence passing the ball the past few weeks, but you’ve got to do better in the passing game if you want to win.